


Communication Error

by BrainlessCrow



Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Awkward Tension, F/F, Friendship, Gen, Mental Breakdown, Mental Health Issues, Nines loves sitcoms, Not Beta Read, Post-Pacifist Best Ending (Detroit: Become Human), Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-06
Updated: 2020-08-06
Packaged: 2021-03-06 02:00:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,453
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25755493
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BrainlessCrow/pseuds/BrainlessCrow
Summary: Kara has been building up how to tell north how she feelsOnly for all she built up to collapse leaving her in the rubble
Relationships: Kara/North (Detroit: Become Human)
Kudos: 9





	Communication Error

**Author's Note:**

> could be seen as a continuation of mundane days, written in the same universe where kara works at the community center and north has an apartment with a bunch of roommates.

Kara fidgeted in her seat, pulling at the cuff of her jacket and glancing at the door of the restaurant. She checked her phone, confirming that she had the date right. She lifted her glass of water to her lips then put it back down, not even taking a sip. Her phone buzzed and Kara opened it and had it in front of herself seconds later. 

North: _ almost there sorry, traffic was a bitch _

Kara almost sighed in relief. She fidgeted for a few more minutes, seeing the door open and North walk in, wearing a crop top under a fishnet shirt and Kara took a second to breathe to ground herself. She stood under the guise of shedding her jacket and waved North over. The two sat down and finally ordered. 

Portions for androids were always small, as the robots didn't need to metabolise food as much as Humans, but the process of eating and enjoying tastes and textures was not lost on them. The date went well, with small talk about the small startup one of North’s roommates was trying to get going -”She is looking into making knitted products but at the speed of machine made items? You saw those statues with the scarves? Yea she was a part of it”- and the new programs Kara was setting up - “It's going to be a computer literature class, you'd be amazed at how many androids dont think they need to learn how to use a computer! Like we were not disconnected from the network.”.

Kara footed the bill, placing the cash in the folder, having read the menu ahead of time and using her knowledge of what North liked to get an idea of exactly how much cash she would need on her. North was picking at the last of the ice cream in the small dish the two had split, Kara’s stomach too anxious to have more than a bite. 

Kara took North’s hand from across the table. “So, North,” Kara’s other hand sat in her lap under the table, fidgeting with the cloth napkin she had sat in her lap earlier in the meal. “I love you.” Kara said definitively. 

North visually swallowed, her face blank. Kara watched as the other woman sat motionless for a moment, almost longing for the visual indicator of the long since gone LED that neither of them ever wore. “Thank you.” North said. The waiter returned with Kara’s receipt. Kara released North’s hand to retrieve it, putting it in her bag and checking her phone. 

“Oh! I just got a text, the closer forgot to lock the doors I have to go, have a nice night!” Kara said, placing the crumpled napkin on the table and standing. She gave North a kiss on the cheek as she grabbed her jacket and left. Kara was outside of the building, still pulling her jacket on. She stepped into her van, throwing her bag onto the passenger seat and pulling out of the parking lot with the precision of someone who was programmed to drive and was in a hurry. 

Kara racked her brain for where she could go, driving through the city and scoping out the closed shops. She wasn't going to break into any, those days of true desperation behind her. It didn't help that most of her friends were cops either. Kara pressed the gas pedal a little harder, remembering the old parking garage that used to be attached to the construction projects on the west side of town. They were only ever used now by office workers unafraid to walk a few blocks, and graffiti artists before Kara set up most of them with mural jobs. 

Kara’s car thumped through the broken gate, tires rolling over the long piece of wood designed to keep cars out with no effort. She kept going until she was on the roof, locked her car doors and sat back and 

Kara wasn't sure what to do. She had hyped herself up for a week to say that to North. For all of Kara’s dating attempts, she had never gotten so far as to say I love you to anyone. Kara double checked the locks on her doors, which she had gotten reinforced after inheriting the Van from the previous community center director. The van was one of the places where Kara felt the safest. She closed her eyes, letting a tear fall. 

Kara stared out of the tinted windshield of her van until the sun rose, giving light to a world which Kara saw as so dark only hours prior, as she felt her heart break with the words thank you.

That morning Kara called the community center and called out for the next two days, citing personal issues. She had set up the center to work like a well oiled machine without her, and it was a slow week anyways. She threw her phone into the back of the van after that, letting its battery run out in the pile of picnic blankets that hadn't gotten taken out after the last event. She pulled herself up to the roof of her Van and sprawled out between the roof racks. The Keys to the van clenched in her hands which laid on her stomach, her nice button up and blazer that she normally saved for the big events run by the center getting wrinkled and dirty from the grimy surface of the van.

That night she returned to the inside of the van, and sat for another night, unfeeling and unthinking. Her mind was a whirlpool of thoughts, of regrets. She pulled out a notebook and scrawled plans for leaving, using only what she had in the van. She considered all the places that she could leave the van where it wouldn't be stolen. But the following morning she was right back up on the roof.

-

It was the third day of Kara missing that led the Android who headed the ticketing office to check up on her. Upon finding her apartment empty, they went to the police precinct to mention it to Kara’s friends. Davis walked up to the detectives desk that she believed belonged to Connor. “Oh, you're not Connor, you're, Nine?” They asked.

“Nines.” He corrected me. He didn't like being mistaken for Connor, yet looking identical to his predecessor he had learned to deal with it from strangers.

“You're friends with Kara right? Have you seen her recently? She hasn't been coming by, and I know today is her day off but normally she still comes in.” Davis asked, fidgeting a little bit.

“I haven't. I'll look into it, but she's likely fine.” He said, giving his practiced reassuring smile. The other android looked relieved, and excused themself after checking the time. 

Nines checked the group text, as well as his text chain with Kara. No texts for the past three days. Not necessarily an immediate cause for concern, but coupled along with her absence from work it did. Nines mentally laid the facts out in front of him. Last he knew, Kara had a date with North and she was stressed about it?

No, not stressed, she was nervous. He remembered her sitting on the couch fidgeting during the previous movie night, some romantic comedy that isn't much different from the last few he had watched. Then she had been speaking to Markus and Hank in the kitchen afterwards. Nines regretted reading the magazine that had been on the coffee table and not listening intently. 

Nines checked the camera database for the Community center’s van license plate. He found the area and got up to go as Gavin walked back in. “Hey ISpy where are you going?” The detective asked.

“Checking on one of my friends.” Nines said, going to walk past his partner only to have Gavin step in front of him. His processor blinked yellow for a moment. “Excuse me.” He said.

“You can't leave, we have a case to work on.” Gavin said, boxing Nines in for a moment. 

Nines grabbed a notebook off of his desk. “According to the handbook I am allowed a thirty minute lunch for every 8 hours worked. I have taken only three lunches in the past several weeks. I am allowed to leave.” Nines handed Gavin the notebook with the page open and highlighted. 

“Let me grab my coat, I'm coming with you.”

Nines gave a glance to the ceiling and took a deep breath. He waved Gavin along, figuring it easier to go along with it than waste time arguing. He took their issued police car and drove out to the west side, ignoring Gavins comments of where he was going and any remarks about Nines picture perfect driving. 

Nines glanced over to the parking garage, seeing the tire sized dust marks and doing the math to compare them to the tires on the community center van. His knowledge of Kara bitching about how hard it was to get the custom wheels came in handy as he drove through the other gate, leaving the dust undisturbed. He followed the trail up to the top of the structure and was relieved to see Kara sitting atop the van, cross legged with her hands under her chin.

His relief fell a little bit as he saw the hundred yard stare the other android had over the city. He parked the car a few spots away from Kara. Gavin made a smart remark about how neither of them needed to park in the lines in a fuckin abandoned parking garage, and was further ignored. 

Nines waved to Kara, and as she waved back he let out the little air he had been holding. Leave it to Gavin to bark from his spot leaned against the car “Hey what the fuck.” Kara responded by turning away from them and lying down on the Van, hidden away by the roof racks. 

Nines gave Gavin a short glare before approaching the van. “One of the members of the community center said they hadn't seen you in a few days and they were worried.” Nines said up to the roof. 

“My phone died, I didn't plug it in.” Kara said, the portable charger in her bag safety locked in the car. Her phone sat untouched in the mound of picnic blankets. It had stopped buzzing midway through the first day. 

Gavin approached the car, having determined that Kara wasn't going to do anything harmful to them or herself. “So are you having a crisis or some shit.” He asked, squinting against the sun which had peaked over the Van, baking the top of the parking garage. 

Kara rolled her arm out and flipped off the detective, who stared at the hand like it was someone who had soiled the name of his whole family. “Well you have to fuckin come down! It's a slight on the city to have someone having a breakdown on the roof of a community center van!”

“Hey detective Reed,” Kara rolled over slightly to look at the Detective. “Fuck you.” She spat before rolling back over like that had taken all of your energy.

“Fuck you!” Gavin cursed, stomping back to the police car and sitting against it away from the androids. The sound of a lighter being clicked and a plume of cigarette smoke lit up.

Nines looked up to the edge of Karas form and ran through the possibilities in his head, before settling on one. He pulled himself up onto the hood of the car, then sat on the edge of the roof, giving Kara a good amount of space yet putting them on the same level.  “He’s almost right you know. You can't stay here forever. You're running that charity raffle tomorrow night.” Nines said, staring out into the city. He understood why Kara chose this as her spot. It felt secluded, yet had the perfect vantage spot of the entire city. Close to home yet removed from it.

Kara sighed. “I'm scared, Nines. I've put so much effort into everything, and everyday I wake up in fear of it being ripped away from me.” Kara sat up, facing away from Nines.

“I understand. We’re in a strange world. I didn't experience the world before the Liberation, but I see its marks everywhere. Every android who is too anxious to talk to anyone at the station aside from me or connor. The community center has become a big gathering place for androids too. It was in the paper the other day, the Community center has the biggest percentage of employed androids.” Nines took a breath that he didn't need, staring at a view that very few had seen in the past few years. “Markus always says we are in a time of history but I am just seeing the ripples that his liberation has caused. You had the biggest change of them all, you're adapting to life on your own for the first time.”

Kara sniffled. Crying wasn’t something installed after the revolution to help them become more human like the ability to metabolise food, Androids had always been able to cry. Kara had seen it as something for humans, the sick satisfaction of seeing an android crying in pain. She had thought that was all it was for until she stood in her apartment after Alice left and wept tears of joy as a weight was lifted off her chest. Crying was the most human expression there was, used to expunge emotions from the body. 

“You can't stay here.” Nines said again, not turning to view Kara but putting his hand behind him to show his support, to attempt comfort. He was a programmed negotiator, made for diffusing situations. He wasn't made to relate to who he was negotiating with, yet he felt his blue heart twinge at Kara’s sniffles. He felt empathy for his fellow android. 

Kara reached her hand behind her and placed it atop Nines’ pulling her knees to her chest as she started to let out all the emotions that had been building over the three nights and two and a half days she had spent out there. 

Nines sat still, pausing only to throw Gavin the car keys when the other detective looked like he was going to make his way back over to the van. If he took any satisfaction in Gavin rubbing his chest where the small keyring with the car key and a plastic pineapple had hit him, Nines would never say. 

Nines and Kara sat atop the Van until the sun started to set, Detroit bright against the darkening pink sky. Kara hopped off the van and unlocked it, and Nines took his seat on the passenger's side as Kara rustled through the back for her phone. “Pass me a charger? Theye in the main compartment.” Kara asked, hunched over as she twisted back into the driver's seat with her phone in hand. 

Nines passed her the charger, watching Kara plug it in then place it in the center console. The two sat quietly as Kara turned the van on and pulled out, driving back into the city proper.

Kara pulled up to Nines building, the drizzle turning into a downpour with the occasional crack of lightning across the sky. Kara’s phone had turned on, buzzing somewhat infrequently. Ever the perfect driver Kara never checked it, focusing on the road as the rain worsened. Nines paused in his seat as Kara idled the engine in the parking space, unsure of what to say. He had gotten Kara off the roof, but she still seemed volatile. He longed for the informative LED that most androids had gotten rid of, wishing he knew what Kara was thinking. His LED maintained a soft yellow for the ride, racking his memory for any idea of what to do, his knowledge of how people worked ranging from friends to thirty rock, and he couldn't remember a breakdown like this in any of those shows. He turned slightly to Kara. “Do you want to, come in? The rain is getting worse and isn't predicted to let up until morning.” Nines asked.

Kara stared out the window for a second before turning the car off. “Yeah, sure. Do you have a shower?” She asked, twisting around to pull out a backpack from its spot behind the seat. 

“I do.” Nines said, waiting for Kara to get out of the car first before getting out, still holding Kara’s purse. He found the weight almost comforting as he led Kara up. He unlocked the door to his apartment and led her in, putting the bag on the table he had by the door for keys and his wallet. Kara shut the door behind herself, taking in the sparsely furnished apartment. 

Kara had not been in Nines’ apartment often, most of their friend group’s gatherings taking place at Hank's house. She had come by fleetingly, mostly to drop off Nines' after movie nights when the weather was foul, and once to decorate for Nines’ ‘activation day’ with Connor, but she had had to leave before the party proper. But as she thought back, there had been no changes. The same clean carpet, couch and living room chairs in the same spots. 

Nines walked to his kitchen, trying to follow his normal after work routine, although it was much later than he would normally be home by. “Do you want a glass of water?” He asked, getting his glass out and filling it with water from his fridge. 

“I’m all set.” Kara said, moving to the living area. She looked at the magazines on the coffee table, times magazine, national geographic, all think pieces. She sat down, placing her bag by her feet and leaning into the softness of the couch. She idly looked up as Nines came into the room, glass of water in hand. “The bathroom is right there,” Nines said, gesturing to one of the two doors that led off of the open floor plan of the living area, dining area, and kitchenette. 

“Thanks, I’m good to crash on the couch right?” Kara asked, getting up, and picking her bag back up.

“Of course” Nines said, relieved that he wouldn't have to offer his bed. Or god forbid he have to offer to share his bed. The idea of having someone else in his bed made his skin crawl. He drank his water as Kara entered the bathroom, having emptied the cup by the time he heard the water running. 

Kara stood under the spray of the water, letting go of the recursive thoughts she’d had over the past couple of days with the water, practicing some breathing techniques that she’d picked up in therapy. She spent fifteen minutes in the shower before stepping out, her synthetic hair not needing a washing for another week. 

Kara stared at her form in the mirror, the bags under her eyes. She focused on her synthetic skin for a moment and willed them away, watching as it faded in moments. It was nice to have these visual indicators of a need for stasis to blend in with the rest of society, which was why she had them turned on but Kara liked being able to hide any form of unwellness with ease. 

She pulled on the sweatpants and red t-shirt that she kept in her backpack. She tucked the nice outfit she had had on from her date atop the miscellaneous things that rested in the bag. A burner phone, a fake ID, some socks. She zipped the bag shut and returned to the living room. 

Nines looked up from where he was sitting on his phone, an episode of the Office paused on the TV. Kara watched as the yellow LED on his head circled his head. She took pause, a mental breath, before sitting on the other end of the couch curling her feet up beside her. “You,,, a fan of this show?” She asked, reading the episode description that popped up on the paused screen.

Nines finished typing on his phone, “It's not my favourite, There's not a lot of real tension or conflict. It was recommended to me by the streaming service’s algorithm.” He said, before hitting play. The two watched the episode in a comfortable silence. Once it ended Nines turned off the TV, getting up. “Well, Good Night.” Nines said, awkwardly. He retreated into his bedroom, and Kara heard the soft click of the lock. 

Kara laid back on the couch, staring at the ceiling. She took a deep breath and activated her rest cycle manually instead of waiting for sleep to take her. 

**Author's Note:**

> if theres any interest for an explanation of this universe leave a comment, i do have a bit built up for all the characters and where they are.


End file.
